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| Home > Newsletters > Caregiving PolicyDigest > Volume IX, Number 1, January 7, 2009
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©Family Caregiver Alliance
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| A newsletter of FCA's National Center on Caregiving |
January 7, 2009
Volume IX, Number 1
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IN THIS ISSUE
State Legislation, Policy & Reports
- New York: Bill Would Establish Family-Directed Home Care Demonstration Program More...
Federal Legislation, Policy & Reports
- CMS Issues Star Quality Rating System for Nursing Homes More...
- Obama to Form White House Task Force on Working Families More...
- Social Security Begins Taking Online Applications More...
International News
- Barbados: Official Promises Comprehensive Approach to Elder Care, Including Public Support for Family Caregivers More...
- United Kingdom: Two New Reports Examine Young Carers More...
Research Reports & Journal Articles
- "Diagnosis and Management of Dementia in Long-Term Care" More...
Conferences & Trainings
- FCA Hosts Symposium on Policy and Family Caregiving at Aging in America Conference March 18 More...
- Conference to Focus on the Challenges of Aging in the African-American Community More...
Funding, Media & Miscellaneous
- "New Model of Care Is Needed, Experts Say" More...
- "Stolen Years": Article Highlights Growing Trend of Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease More...
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New York: Bill Would Establish Family-Directed Home Care Demonstration Program
A bill introduced in the New York State Assembly at the start of the year (A. 865) would establish a family-directed home care demonstration program that allows adults with long-term care needs and their families greater flexibility and freedom of choice in obtaining home care services. Approved home care agencies would administer the demonstration programs, providing care recipients and their family caregivers ongoing education and assistance regarding the recruitment, selection, scheduling and management of the nurses who provide in-home care services. The bill is intended to deliver home care in a more cost-effective manner and to increase and retain the pool of nurses willing to provide home care services. For more information, visit:
New York State Assembly
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CMS Issues Star Quality Rating System for Nursing Homes
On December 18, 2009, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released for the first time quality ratings for each of the nation's 15,800 nursing homes that participate in Medicare or Medicaid. Facilities are assigned star ratings from a low of one star to a high of five stars based on health inspection surveys, staffing information and quality of care measures. Rankings are dynamic and will be updated monthly. In this first round of quality ratings, about 12% of the nation's nursing homes received a full five star rating, while nearly one in four (22%) scored at the low end with one star. For more information, visit:
CMS - Nursing Home Compare
Obama to Form White House Task Force on Working Families
The Obama Transition team recently announced the President-elect's intention to form a "White House Task Force on Working Families," to be chaired by Vice President-elect Joe Biden. The Task Force will be a major initiative targeted at raising the living standards of middle-class, working families and will be comprised of top-level administration policy makers. Its goals include addressing issues that affect family caregivers, such as improving work and family balance, helping to protect middle-class and working-family incomes, and protecting retirement security. In addition to regular meetings, the Task Force will conduct outreach sessions with representatives of labor, business and the advocacy communities. For more information, visit:
Office of the President-Elect
Social Security Begins Taking Online Applications
A new service recently launched by the Social Security Administration allows people to apply online, in as little as 15 minutes, for retirement benefits. While in the past people trying to sign up online had to mail in or deliver paper documents with signatures or copies of birth certificates, the new system has no paper forms to sign and usually requires no additional documents. Those with more complicated questions can still call the agency or visit an office. The move to online applications is part of the agency's attempt to deal with the coming eligibility of 80 million baby boomers. For more information, visit:
Social Security Administration
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Barbados: Official Promises Comprehensive Approach to Elder Care, Including Public Support for Family Caregivers
Barbados Minister of Health Donville Inniss recently pledged to take a holistic approach to caring for the country's older population, including public support for adult day services and institutional care and for families who care for older relatives in the home. He acknowledged the challenges many caregivers face in trying to work outside the home while also caring for older family members, and he said the government would need to find "innovative ways of providing assistance" for those families. He also noted that there was a role for community service groups to help provide quality care to older adults. For more information, visit:
The Barbados Advocate
United Kingdom: Two New Reports Examine Young Carers
Two new reports by Fiona Becker and Saul Becker from the University of Nottingham examine the experiences and needs of children and young adult carers in the United Kingdom. The first report, Young Adult Carers in the UK: Experiences, Needs and Services for Carers aged 16-24, provides an in-depth picture of the numbers, needs, experiences and service responses to young adult carers. The second report, Service Needs and Delivery Following the Onset of Caring Amongst Children and Young Adults: Evidenced Based Review, provides an evidence-based review of young carers and their service and support needs following the onset of caring, the factors that explain why they become carers in the first place and why they often have to stay in these caring roles for many years, the nature of the tasks and responsibilities that they perform, and the range of outcomes associated with caring. For more information, visit:
Young Adult Carers in the UK
Service Needs and Delivery Following the Onset of Caring Amongst Children and Young Adults
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"Diagnosis and Management of Dementia in Long-Term Care"
An article in a supplemental issue of the Annals of Long-Term Care (December 2008) by Dr. Consuelo Wilkins and colleagues provides an overview of the diagnosis and management of dementia for nursing home residents. The article describes the challenges of getting an accurate dementia diagnosis when living in institutional care and the types of treatments residents with dementia receive. The overview includes a review of medications, treatment of cognitive impairment, and treatment of behavioral symptoms, as well as a discussion of ethics and end-of-life issues. For more information, visit:
Annals of Long-Term Care
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FCA Hosts Symposium on Policy and Family Caregiving at Aging in America Conference March 18
The National Center on Caregiving (NCC) at Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) will host a cutting-edge symposium at the 2009 Aging in America Conference called "Policy, Politics and Family Caregiving: Federal and State Perspectives." The event will be held Wednesday, March 18, 2009 from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. in Las Vegas. A distinguished panel of policy experts and advocates will provide a national perspective on caregiving in the context of health and long-term care reform and explore innovative and forward-thinking policies and advocacy efforts in the states. This symposium is being held in conjunction with the National Alliance for Caregiving, which is holding a session on caregiving coalitions earlier in the day from 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the same room. These events will be held during the 2009 Annual Conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging, March 15-19 in Las Vegas. To register for the conference and to sign up for the free symposium and the caregiving coalitions event, visit:
American Society on Aging
Conference to Focus on the Challenges of Aging in the African-American Community
The Association for Gerontology and Human Development in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (AGHD-HBCU) is hosting a conference, "Addressing the Challenges of Aging: African Americans in the Twenty First Century," March 26-28, 2009 in Atlanta, GA. AGHD-HBCU has issued a call for papers, due by January 20, 2009. For forms and instructions, contact Mary Williams at (336) 334-7916 or mpwillia@ncat.edu. For more information, visit:
AGHD-HBCU
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"New Model of Care Is Needed, Experts Say"
An article by Jane Brody in the New York Times highlights the need for a new approach to caring for older adults. The article points out that there are too few physicians trained in geriatrics, in part because they are the lowest paid doctors. The experts in the article argue that the health care system needs to change so that the time geriatricians spend treating older patients, many with multiple chronic conditions, is highly valued and so that these patients stay as healthy as possible and living independently as long as possible. The article highlights new approaches to geriatric care. For more information, visit:
New York Times
"Stolen Years": Article Highlights Growing Trend of Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease
An article in the Baltimore Sun recently exposed what appears to be a growing number of adults in their 40s, 50s and early 60s with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, although it is hard to know for sure the actual number. Adults with early onset of the disease and their families face unique challenges that older adults may not experience. Some of these patients still have young children, many families struggle financially when the person with the disease is forced to leave the workforce prematurely, and it is hard for patients and their caregivers to find support from peers in their own age group dealing with the same issues. For more information, visit:
Baltimore Sun
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To find caregiver support services in your state, visit FCA's Family Care Navigator http://caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/fcn_content_node.jsp?nodeid=2083
?2009 Family Caregiver Alliance. All rights reserved.
The National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance works to advance the development of high-quality and cost-effective policies and programs for caregivers in every state in the country. The National Center is a central source of information and technical assistance on family caregiving for policymakers, health and service providers, program developers, funders, media and families. For questions or further information about the National Center on Caregiving, contact PolicyDigest@caregiver.org or visit the Family Caregiver Alliance website at www.caregiver.org.
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Caregiving PolicyDigest is a publication of the National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance, 180 Montgomery Street, Suite 1100, San Francisco, CA 94104.
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